US Poll: Why Obama is the world's choice

As Americans go to the polls to elect their 44th president on Tuesday, the world has already given them a choice — Senator Barack Obama.

In the final weekend of the long and fierce race for the White House, many countries are openly supporting the Democrat, who they see as the candidate who offers hope.

A new opinion poll by Gallup shows that most countries in Africa, Europe and Asia overwhelmingly support Mr Obama.

In Africa, an average of 56 per cent of all respondents chose Mr Obama. And buoyed by record campaign donations and encouraging poll numbers, Senator Obama on Sunday promised to heal the world’s and America’s political divisions.

With voting day just over 24 hours away, Sen Obama maintained a six-point lead against his Republican rival, Senator John MacCain.

In China, a survey showed that 75 per cent of the country’s population of over a billion supported Mr Obama and that they believed that he personified “the American dream”.

In 70 other countries, a survey conducted by the Gallup agency showed that if the rest of the world could take part in the US presidential election, Mr Obama would win four times more votes than Mr McCain.

Even presidents and prime ministers weighed in. French president Nicholas Sarkozy was among world leaders who came out in support of Mr Obama.

Mr Sarkozy said Mr Obama would change the way the world views the United States. Also chipping in was Cuba’s retired president Fidel Castro who said it was a pure miracle that Mr Obama had not been assassinated.

He wrote on a Cuban web site: “Profound racism exists in the United States. Millions of whites cannot reconcile in their minds the idea that a black man with his wife and children would move into the White House, which is called just that white.”

And on Sunday, Senator Obama and Senator McCain focused their attention on the must-win states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Speaking to supporters in Newport News, Virginia, on Saturday Mr McCain questioned Mr Obama’s readiness to lead in the face of “grave threats” posed by al Qaeda and the prospects of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Mr Obama used nationwide radio address to repeat his message of change. “If you give me your vote on Tuesday, we wont’ just win this election — together we will change this country and the world.”

Different countries and major media organisations support Mr Obama because his policies are likely to be non-confrontational compared to Mr McCain’s who has been fighting to shed off a perception that he will carry on with the policies of President George W. Bush.

Obama’s flamboyant style of campaigning, his age and charisma have whipped up the world to rally behind him as the man to take charge of the White House on January 20, 2009.

Looked at globally, in the past one year, no subject has been more engrossing than Obama’s candidature. At the beginning, it looked impossible. But now the opinion polls have given Mr Obama an impressive lead.

Worldwide, there was an outpouring of support for Mr Obama in a way never seen before for any presidential candidate.

In Cuba, Mr Castro described Mr Obama as a politician who “has the habit of looking at his opponent with serenity and laughing at his rhetorical attacks”.